STRESS MANAGEMENT

R.Krishnamurthi

Definitions
The response to events that are threatening / challenging Any interference that disturbs a persons mental and physical well being. It is caused by a failure to balance conflicting demands. It is an imbalance between perceived demands and personal resources. It is a natural, unavoidable and essential part of living and growing.

Categorizing Stressors
Cataclysmic events- that occur suddenly and affect many people at once. Personal stressors- includes major life events such as death of a parent/spouse, loss of ones job, a major personal failure, diagnosis of life threatening illness. Background stressorsevery day annoyances, stuck in traffic, Q- minor irritations, delays, noise, broken appliances, other peoples irritating behaviour, job, relationships, crowded quarters.

Nature of Stressors
For people to consider an event to be stressful, they must perceive it as threatening and must lack the resources to deal with it effectively. Cognitive factors relating to our interpretation of events play n important role in the determination of what is stressful. When self esteem is affected, it is stressful.

Causes of Stress
Changing societies increasing urbanization, aging population, changing gender role Changing organizations responding to pressures, rethinking companies, mergers & acquisitions, changing operations, reaching the limits Changing practices supply and demand, understanding new technology, relocating offices, diversifying careers

Stress at Work
Poor physical working conditions Shift work Changes in the work environment Unemployment Job overload Job under load Physical danger Poor person / environment fit Job satisfaction

Stress at Work

contd

Career blockages Poor relationships at work Organizational structure and climate High demand for performance Technology Dual careers bullying

Environmental Stress
Pollution Noise Crowding and variety in human contacts Competition Rate of change

Stress in Managing
Motivating staff Meeting deadlines Staying within budget

Reporting to superiors

Manager

Adapting to change

Recognizing Symptoms
Physical- HBP, Heart disease, insomnia, a feeling of fatigue, headaches, digestive disorders, over eating, loss of appetite, ulcer, asthma, arthritis, eczema, sore throat, back ache, sleep difficulties

Emotional- irritability, depression, suicidal tendency, lack of libido, loss of sense of humour.

General Adaptation Syndrome

A persons response to stress consists of 3 stages: Alarm and Mobilization -occurs when people become aware of the presence of a stressor. Resistance people prepare themselves to fight the stressor. Exhaustion a persons ability to adapt to the stressor declines to the point where negative consequences of stress appear.

Effects of Stress
On society - pressure of public service Health care, pensions for early retirement, disability benefits for accidents, quality of life suffers On industry - industrial accidents, inefficiency absenteeism On individual illness and behavior problems alcohol abuse, indulgence in destructive behaviour, mood swings, depression. On Families - high divorce rates

Dealing with Stress

Identifying attitudes Devising a strategy Taking positive action Reclaiming your desk Studying work patterns Managing time Communicating well Gaining inner balance Making time to relax Taking action at home Developing new interests Improving diet

Coping with Stress

The efforts to control, reduce or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress. 2 categories Emotion focused Problem focused Emotion focused Conscious regulation of emotions. Looking at the bright side of a situation.

Emotion Focused
1- Defence Mechanism- unconscious strategies that maintain a persons sense of control and self worth by distorting or denying the actual nature of the situation. 2- Emotional Insulation- a person stops experiencing any emotion at all, thereby remaining unaffected and unmoved by both positive and negative experiences. Problem Focused - Attempts to manage the stressful problem/ stimulus. Gets the person change his behaviour.

Coping Style
Hardy personality- hardiness is a personality characteristic associated with a lover rate of stress related illness. Consists of three components: 1- Commitment- tendency to throw ourselves into whatever we are doing with a sense that our activities are important and meaningful. 2- Challenge- believes in change not stability 3- Control- people can influence the events in their lives.

Time Management
Of all the things in the world is the longest & the shortest, the swiftest & the slowest, the most neglected & the most regretted, without which nothing can be done, which devours all that is little & ennobles all that is great. Time is the order of events. It is a continuum in which events succeed one after another from the past through present to future

DIVISION OF TIME
A) BIOLOGICAL- SLEEP,REST,FOOD, EXE, ENTER B) MGMT/BS/ - OFFICECORR, VISITOR,MEET, PHONE C) SOCIAL FAMILY, PARTY D) OWN TIME UNDISTURBED

Self Analysis
PLANN ING DOING INTERACT ING TYPE WELL BALANCED YOUR THINGS BECK & CALL

+ + -

+ + +

+ +

DAY DREAMER

TIME MGMT MATRIX

Urgent
I M P O R T A N T N O T

Not Urgent

I
CRISES DEADLINE PRESSING PROBLEMS

II
PLANNING PREVENTION TRAINING RELATIONSHIP

III
SOME REPORTS SOME MAIL INTERRUPTIONS SOME CALLS

IV
WASTE WATCHING T V PLEASANT ACTS TIME WASTERS

RULES
LIST GOALS & SET PRIORITIES MAKE A DAILY TO DO LIST START WITH HIGH PAYOFF ACTIVITY HANDLE EACH PAPER ONLY ONCE KEEP ASKING WHAT IS THE BEST USE OF MY TIME NOW

TIPS
CONCENTRATE AVOID LITTER TAKE ADEQUATE BREAKS PLAN DONT PROCRASTINATE DELEGATE DONT BE AFRAID TO SAY NO DONT BE A PERFECTIONIST

Improving Concentration
Depth and Time are the two parts of a concentration pattern. 10 minutes to become deeply focused and sustain for 20 minutes. Then take a break. Layered learning: a technique that will help you make use of otherwise unusable time. While traveling, waiting and driving. Make your own tapes or prerecorded tapes.

Improving Concentration
Layers 1 First time get an overview 2 Main ides becomes clear, will be able to recall 3 Details start to stand out how to apply 4 Grasp most of the facts- know the examples and principles 5 It becomes second nature to you

Improving Concentration
Stronger Concentration: 1 Prepare yourself and your office 2 Work in building block fashion 3 Psyche yourself up 4 pay yourself for improving concentration 5 Log off your performance

Avoid procrastination
Take a small chunk of the job and do it right away Start a task the minute you think of it Search for the first step Determine the longest possible time frame Search out common bases Begin complex problems before simple ones Work on the tough profits rather that the easy ones

Delegation
Do Delay Delegate Dump Delegation ways and means Ask Questions Who else can do this? What would be a better use of my time? When can I start delegating this? How can I do it faster? Why am I the only one to do this? The answers will help you decide to do or delegate

What not to delegate?

Do not delegate that you do not want to do it yourself Do not delegate things that need disciplinary action Do not delegate things that are confidential Once a mans job grows beyond his personal capacity, his success lies in his ability to multiply himself through other people How well one delegates determines how well one manages

Nuts & Bolts of Delegation

Practice delegation Take time to teach a task Listen well Make sure that you are understood Test your delegates readiness Use meeting to serve two delegation purposes you save time he learns

How to say no
Remember the three Bs Be selfish ask yourself 1 What could I eliminate from my schedule to accommodate this request? 2 Will saying no create further problems? Be firm do not waver from your decision. Repeat your no & do not discuss any further Be pleasant express your regrets.

Career Plateau
Performance by mid-career workers at an acceptable but not outstanding level, coupled with little of no effort to improve performance. The rapid growth of technology and the accelerating development of new knowledge require a person in midlife make some sort of change for his/her own survival

Career Plateau
A strategy to cope with mid-career problems is to deal with or prevent obsolescence. 3 personal characteristics tend to be associated with low obsolescence: 1) High intellectual ability 2) High self motivation 3) Personal flexibility

Career stages
Career cycle- the stages through which a persons career evolves. Growth stage - birth to 14 Exploration stage - 15 to 24 Establishment stage - 24 to 44 Maintenance stage - 45 to 65 Decline stage - 65 and after

Mid-Career
The heart of most peoples work lives. 3 Sub stages 1) Trial sub stage 25 - 30 determines whether or not the chosen field is suitable. 2) Stabilization sub stage 30 37. firm occupational goals are set. 3) Mid career crisis- 37- 44- major reassessment of their progress relative to original ambitions and goals.

Mid-career
Exploration Establish ment High Mid career Late career Decline

Low
5-24 25-35 36-50 50-65 66

Sabbaticals
Use of sabbaticals or extended leaves of absence for career development An extended leave for executive development. Uninterrupted reading. Middle managers and professional employees in mid career may become stagnant and find that their performance levels have plateaud.

Crisis Management
Time of difficulty. Danger / anxiety about future. A definite time to take definite action. Learn from crises to prevent them from recurring. In the absence of a comprehensive plan change shows a roller coaster pattern. Dramatic action in response to each crisis is followed by a marked falloff until the next crisis is triggered.
Time

Crisis Management
Types of crises: 1) Accidental crisis- death of a loved one, sudden illness, loss of property / status 2) Developmental crisis normal human development adjusting to marriage, facing retirement 3) Existential crisis come when we are forced to face disturbing truths, Im a failure, my illness is incurable, my life has no purpose

Crisis Management
1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Crisis intervention: Make contact Reduce anxiety Focus on issues Evaluate resources Plan intervention Encourage action Instill hope Follow up

Crisis Management
Advise by experts 1) Disclose information about your situation on a need to know basis- the people who depend on you have to know what is happening. 2) Work out a strategy to answer questions and concerns. To concentrate at work. Office gossip is often worse than the truth. Co- workers notice when you are under unusual stress 3) Accept help from co-workers when it is offered.

Crisis Management
4) Its okay to lose yourself in work 5) Find emotional support outside the workplace when emotions are overruling, turn to people you love rather than colleagues 6) When the crisis is over, follow through. Managing a crisis inevitably mean making radical changes to avert catastrophe

Importance of good communication

Values of being assertive 1) It allows both you and the other person to enter a win- win situation, tension is reduced 2) You avoid bottling up frustration and resentment 3) Allows you avoid losing friends and making enemies 4) You can learn to express your feelings in a constructive way

Values of being assertive

5) You will be able to improve your social relationships 6) You will be less anxious, more confident, possess high self esteem and more positive about yourself 7) You will be more in control of your own life, rather than letting things just happen to you.

Advantage of crisis
The Chinese word for crisis involves two characters. 1- danger ,2 opportunity Crisis present people with the opportunity to change, grow and develop better ways of coping. People are more open to outside help since they feel confused in a crisis. Help can be from a professional counselor

Advantage of crisis
Emotional crises are unavoidable turning points in life. To live is to experience crises. To experience crisis is to face turning points which will bring both growth and maturation. Most of us behave in fairly consistent ways. There are emotional ups and downs and at times we must exert extra effort to deal with emergencies or unexpected problems.

 E is a process of increasing employees task motivation - Robbins

Empowerment

Analyzing your network of relationships Whose cooperation do I need? Whose compliance do I need? Whose opposition would keep me from accomplishing my work! Who needs my cooperation and compliance? What differences exist between me and the people on whom I am dependent What are the underlying factors that have created or are reinforcing these difference?

Humour at work
Laughing can reduce stress Enlivens presentations and spurs creativity Laughing 15 seconds you get more oxygen to the brain and that lets them think more clearly. The most positive use of humour in the work place may be to create a spirit of social equality by stripping away pretension.

Humour at work
A sense of humour increases your employment security Lighten up: stuffed shirts have short careers. 7/10 lose their jobs not for want of skill, but because of personality conflicts. Humour shows that you are human and the records clearly show that all of us prefer to work for people who are human. If you would rule the world quietly you must keep it amused -Emerson

Humour at work
Makes a person more creative, emotionally stable, realistic and self confident. Releases endorphin Sense of humour Good relationships, team spirit is enhanced and productivity goes up. Laughter is the jam on the bread of life. It adds flavour, keeps it from being too dry and makes it easier to swallow. Finding a humourous aspect in a stressful situation redefines the situation in a less threatening way - Dixon

Humour at work
When the going gets tough, it may pay to laugh about it. Laughter and mirth serve to discharge pent up emotions. A good sense of humour functions as a buffer to lessen the negative impact of stress on mood. A sense of humour is an almost invariable possession of a cultured and matured personality.

Conflicts
A serious disagreement, an argument Arises from disagreements over the goals to be attained or the methods used to accomplish these goals. Industrial Poor working conditions Employer inciting workers to fight amongst themselves Egoism of managers and supervisors Quarrelsome nature of Managers & supervisors

Conflicts
The psychological state of conflict exists when we are under pressure to respond simultaneously to two or more incompatible forces, like the conflicting urges to express or suppress aggression or sexuality. A sense of humor is the ability to see oneself objectively and to be amused by ones inferiorities, jealousies, unsocial desires. The ability to laugh at oneself

Improving Personality
P the total you. Is your structure, your muscle tone, your nervous system and your brain, your glands, the way you treat your friends, you approach your work, your reaction to your parents, your skills, your weaknesses, your bad temper. Your personality is the manifestation of every cell in your body.

Improving Personality
DO YOUR HOMEWORK DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE DEVELOP POSITIVE EMOTIONS KNOW YOUR WEAKNESSES FIND OUT YOUR STRENGTHS ESTABLISH A NETWORK OF PEOPLE BUILD UP RESERVES MAINTAIN SILENCE BE LOYAL

QUALITIES OF ANIMALS
COURAGE FAST PROUD FOCUS ADAPTABLE MEMORY PATIENCE INDUSTRIOUS LION CHEETAH PEACOCK HAWK CHAMELEON ELEPHANT SPIDER ANT

Improving Personality
Physical Development Intellectual development Mental Emotional Social Spiritual

S elf T raining for E ssential

P erformance S kills

Leading with Integrity

Integrity is the greatest wealth among other wealth. What makes a person lose integrity? Lure of money Favorable to kith and kin Achieving of a position of power, of nature and fame Loss of integrity is a question of trust Trust is the emotional glue that binds followers and leaders together

Fostering Creativity
Refers to developing an original product, service, or idea that makes a socially recognized contribution. A sustained effort towards an idea. Model Preparation incubation
insight

verification

Conditions for Creativity

1
2 3 4 5 6 7

Creativity is a function of both the person and the situation Creative people have a strong artistic & intellectual values Tolerance for ambiguity Need for achievement Self confidence Creative work environments Supportive leadership Cross pollination of ideas

Effective Decision Making

A decision is a judgment or choice between two or more alternatives and arises in an infinite number of situations from the resolution of a problem to the implementation of a course of action TIPS Examine every alternative closely before making a decision Change decisions that are no longer appropriate

Effective Decision Making

Always ask what can go wrong when you are making a decision Always try to balance an intuitive hunch with sound logical analysis Assess your decision making ability and try to improve them Marry intellect with intuition in decision making Never post pone vital decisions make them quickly

Decision making
The DECIDE Model D determine/ define the problem/ difficulty E express your aim/purpose C collect information I interpret information D decide what to do E examine your decision later

Sensible Communication
Good communication is the lifeblood of an organization. It takes many forms, such as speaking, writing and listening, though its purpose is always to convey a message to recipients. Use it to handle information and improve relationships Communication is always a two way process

Sensible Communication
Three rules that govern good communication are all associated with clarity: 1) Be clear in your mind about what you want to communicate 2) Deliver the message succinctly 3) Ensure that the message has been clearly and correctly understood

Listening
PURPOSEFUL HEARING Trying to understand another human being from an individuals own frame of reference. One of the most effective communicative tools. But the least used.

Levels of Listening
IGNORING PRETENDING MARGINAL LISTENING Majority of message is not heard or understood EVALUATIVE LISTENING Careful listening PROJECTIVE Attempting to understand speakers view point

Barriers
DAY DREAMING LETTING ONES MIND WANDER MENTAL DEAFNESS HABIT, ATTITUDE INTERNAL DISTRACTION LAZINESS - CLOSED MINDEDNESS BOREDOM INATTENTION EASILY

Worst Listening Habits

CALLING THE SUBJECT UNINTERESTING CRITICISING THE SPEAKERS DELIVERY FAKING ATTENTION TO THE SPEAKER TOLERATING / CREATING DISTRACTIONS AVOIDING DIFFICULT MATERIAL

Managing self
Mental Hygiene A sound mind in a sound body partial truth. Man is a psycho physical complex Know the drives and tendencies of the mind and the ways of controlling regulating canalizing Your key to personal success is to control your mind and master your emotions

Negative Emotions to be controlled Desire Anger Fear Worry Haste/ Impatience Indolence Ego Envy Guilt complex

Meditation
Meditation alters the frame of reference that gives the person his experience of time. Deepak Chopra Mediation lowers biological age It is the ability to focus your attention clearly on one thing or a group of related things for a considerable length of time. It means not fritting away energy hopping from one thing to another and making little progress in any of them

Yoga
Yoga is the union of the two. Individual soul and universal spirit Aim is to control all mental processes Breathing Heart beat Oxygen intake The main feature of yoga system is the development of personality through strengthening the self and the control of bodily and mental process.

 Yoga thinkers and practitioners developed a system by which it is possible for man to gain peace of mind and tranquility: 1) by controlling all mental processes 2) by becoming aware of the various predispositions 3) by making conscious the various samskaras the unconscious impressions left on the mind by the various mental operations and experiences.